from parks and trails tobright murals organized bythe local nonprofit RiverArts. A long-awaited bypass,rerouting heavy trucksout of downtown, alsoopened. “I can make all theregulation changes I want,”Thomas said, “but if nobodywants to live here, they won’tdo any good.”Co-op business plansand financial spreadsheetswere crunched; consultantsweighed in. Jack Pickett,a longtime Stowe chef-restaurateur and Morrisvilleresident of more than adecade, had jumped at thechance to serve on the taskforce and then as a co-opboard member. “They saidwe needed 1,000 college-educated people making

$80,000-plus a year,” Pickett
said. Experts also advised
that a co-op couldn’t be
launched for less than a
million dollars and that the
store should be sited on the
edge of town. The board set
a more conservative budget
and stuck with the central
location. “You can always
grow into a bigger space,”
said Nancy Banks, who
served as board chair when
the co-op opened.

In 2014, the boardannounced a fundraisinggoal of $250,000 over 18months. It was not easy, butthey succeeded, eventuallyreaching a total of $305,000in memberships, loans,and donations from thecommunity. A 30-day onlinefundraiser alone involved

140 backers who contributed
between $50 and $1,500,
adding up to more than

$20,000. “We defied the
metrics,” said Pickett.

MoCo also receivedcrucial and substantialsupport from the Tittertons,who decided to buy thebuilding identified as themost promising location forthe new store. The coupledeclined to share how muchthey have put into the co-op effort, but 46 PleasantStreet has been assessedat just under half a milliondollars, and they alsocovered necessary structuralrenovations. “We wanted toinvest in our community,”Susan Titterton said simply.“So many volunteers andso many people steppedup to contribute,” shecontinued, listing off morethan a dozen businesses thatdonated services and offereddiscounts to foundingmembers. “The communityof a co-op is formed longbefore you actually have thestore,” Susan said.